Fall
by madcrazedmags
Summary: "'When did you start falling for me,' she finally asks, slowly." Makorra. Fluff, fluff, fluff, fluuuuufffffff. Also rated T for some swears.


**so, i've been wanting a fic where korra and mako reminisce about their relationship before they were a couple but i couldn't find any so here. i made one. you are welcome.**

"Can I ask you something?"

He opens his eyes attentively, giving a small sound of acknowledgement and she accepts it as a 'yes'. She glances down, suddenly shy, her face a bit red. He finds it adorable and chuckles softly, kissing her head. With a bite of her bottom lip, she looks up shyly, but attractively so.

"When did you start falling for me?" she finally asks, slowly. Her eyes are wide with curiosity and a small shy smile plays on her lips. It makes him want to kiss her, but he suppresses the urge.

When _did _he start to fall for her? The question causes him to furrow his eyebrows in thought. It seems like he's always been in love with her, like there was no time that he wasn't.

"To be honest… I don't really know," he admits in a low voice, leaning his head closer to hers. "It's just kind of… been that way for what seems like forever. I _can_ tell you when I realized I love you, though," he says, his eyes meeting hers with a chuckle. "But you've already heard that story, right?"

She giggles and looks down, biting her lip again. When she looks back up, she begins to talk.

"I've been interested in you pretty much from the beginning," she laughs, embarrassed. "Since you were one of the only people who wasn't impressed by me, I took an interest in you. I… wanted to impress you."

"Consider me impressed," he grins and kisses her.

She returns the kiss, of course, but quickly starts talking again.

"What really sealed the deal for me, though, was when we were looking for Bolin. You weren't as much as a jerk as you had been before."

"You still liked that jerk, though, if that gaze you gave me when I won that match was any indication," he teases cheekily, his nose rubbing into the side of her face.

"Sure, whatever you say, Cool Guy," she teases back. "But when we woke up next to each other under that tree in the park… I couldn't really help but think I could get used to that."

He presses his lips to hers and asks, "Do you remember what you told me after the first match of the tournament?"

"How could I forget?" she chuckles, hiding her face in the crook of his neck bashfully, pressing kisses to his skin. "'Look, I really like you –'"

"'And I think we were meant for each other.'" He finishes for her. "You're really cute, you know that?"

She bites his neck. "Don't call me cute. I'm the Avatar for Spirits' sake."

"Maybe so, but right now – and then - you're just Korra. And the Korra I know is the most adorable person I've ever met," he smirks, as he knows this will annoy her.

"Shut up," she grumbles. Then, in a quieter voice, she continues, "I'm only like that because of you."

He hums in contentment with a grin still tugging at his lips. His hand plays with her hair, brushing his fingers through the tangles. His other hand cups the side of her face gently, caressing it, before he angles her neck to kiss her. She laughs against his lips as he does against hers. When they part, she lays her head on his chest, her eyes slowly closing. He's almost sure she's asleep until she begins to speak again.

"Do you remember what you told me after the second match of the tournament that we nearly lost?" she sniggers tiredly.

"Of course I do," he answers. "I told you that you could be so infuriating sometimes-"

"You know what I mean, and it definitely isn't that," she growls slightly.

"'As much as you drive me crazy, I also think you're pretty amazing,'" he recites perfectly, leaning down to lay a kiss on her lips.

"That was so like you, to say something like that," she snickers.

"But it's not in a bad way. You drive me crazy like I like you," he sniggers, remembering the air bender sisters' teasing of Korra.

"Huh, didn't think you'd heard that," she admits, blushing embarrassedly. "Do you remember… our first kiss?"

"I remember it well, yeah. How could I possibly forget it?" he chuckles, a dopey grin on his face. "You were blushing when we parted. I almost kissed you again."

"Well, it's good that you didn't. Can't imagine what that would've done to Bolin…"

He sighs. "You still feel guilty about that? Kor…"

"Yes, I feel guilty!" she breathes sharply. "I knew he liked me and I thought if I didn't do anything about it that he'd figure that I didn't like him in that way but… ugh, I don't know. I broke his heart, and I know what that feels like. And to know that I caused him that pain… it makes me feel guilty as all hell."

"Hey, I'm at fault too. I kissed you back, which probably hurt him as much as you did."

"Fine, I guess you're right…" she frowns. "Do you remember the championship match?"

"Yeah… you were incredible, both in and out of the match."

"Oh, stop. You don't give yourself enough credit, Team Captain," she snickers.

"Well, you _were_ the one to hold onto the ledge and throw me back up," he recalls, even now amazed by that action. "I still don't know how you managed to do that."

She glances down as she says, "You hugged me that day. I think that was the first time you've ever hugged me."

"I thought you were going to die. When I saw you fall from the rooftop… I thought I'd never see you again. Never hear your voice again. Never spar with you again… you scared me."

"You also told me to be careful…" she bites her lip as she smiles. "At the time it didn't mean much to me, but now…"

"Now you know how much I care about you," he beams fondly.

She giggles yet again as she hides her face in the crook of his neck. The conversation almost forgotten, she nearly falls asleep, but is woken up when his voice speaks up.

"Do you remember when you accused Asami's father of being an Equalist?" he asks, not quite happily, but in more of an unfeeling way, with no emotion. He doesn't like talking about this time, and neither does she.

She sighs, answering, "Yeah... yeah, I do. I remember our… argument, too."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes, even though he's done so before.

"Stop apologizing… Bet if I was in your position, I'd think the same thing. It's okay, Mako," she admonishes him, looking up to meet his eyes with a tiny, slightly sad smile. "It's okay."

He kisses the sadness away from her smile.

When they part, Korra tucks her head under his chin, her ear pressed to his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

"You remember when Tarrlok kidnapped me?"

Instinctively his grip on her waist grows tighter as he recalls that time. "Yeah… I remember when Beifong bailed us out and told us… You were all I could think about and just the thought of possibly never seeing you again…" He laughs somewhat bitterly. "But, as I said, you've already heard that story."

"I'm not saying this to make you feel bad, but when you were dating Asami… it was pretty hard on me. I mean, I was kind of spoiled as a kid. Got pretty much everything I wanted with some exceptions. And you, well, you were sending mixed signals too," she says, grinning sadly. "But it just really startled me because Bo said you'd never really been in a serious relationship – something I wanted to change – and then there you were with a beautiful, kind, rich girl on your arm… For the first time in my life, I felt inferior. How could I possibly compete with _her_? And just seeing you two so happy together shattered all my hopes for a relationship with you. I thought you wouldn't be happy with me, even if the two of you _did_ break up. How could you go from being so happy with a girl like her from being happy with a girl like me?" She chuckles, remembering her ignorance. "I couldn't have been any more wrong."

Mako presses multiple kisses to her temple, a hand still running through her hair, murmuring, "I love you," for each kiss. He stares into her eyes, telling her, "You're beautiful, Korra, you're unselfish, incredible, loyal, bold, insane, gorgeous… you're amazing and I love you so much. I'm sorry you felt that way. So," he annunciates with a kiss, "very," another kiss, "sorry." The last kiss is much longer than the ones before, his lips slowly connecting with hers.

She giggles girlishly at his seriousness, taking a steady breath and kissing him again quickly. "I told you not to feel guilty."

"How can't I when you talk like that?" he asks, snuggling into her.

"I guess that's true," she reasons. "Remember when you guys found me? I never thought anyone would see me so… vulnerable like that…"

"That cut on your face made me want to kill Tarrlok."

She chuckles despondently. "Good thing you didn't, though, because he actually proved to be a big help."

"Yeah… damn, that whole week was rough, huh?"

"Very. Seeing Air Temple Island overrun by the Equalists was tough. I lived there for so many months. It was the only place other than the compound that I could call 'home'." She sniffles.

His hand strokes over her back lightly and he kisses her forehead. He doesn't respond; he doesn't know how to. Instead he waits for her to speak again.

"By the way, you looked damn good in that Equalist uniform."

He laughs so much that his stomach hurts. "So like you to say something like that after being so sad," he comments, a lopsided grin playing on his lips. "But I have to say, you looked damn good in it too."

She beams, her nose wrinkling and eyes slipping closed as she leans her forehead against his. "Seriously though," she giggles, "I almost couldn't stop thinking about it. It was the only thing besides the war that was on my mind." Her face flushes slightly.

"Oh, really?" he asks in a knowing voice, wiggling his eyebrows.

At the sight, Korra starts to laugh again. "You're such a dork!"

Her laughter dies down in a low hum as he kisses her. He whispers against her lips, "But I'm your dork."

"Corny bastard," she mutters amusedly, pulling her face away from his.

He gives a short laugh, saying, "Maybe I am. Anyway, care to elaborate on your opinion of me looking damn good in that Equalist uniform?" A teasing grin tugs at his lips.

She smiles wide again. "I don't know, you just looked really good in it! It was tight in all the right places…"

"Oh, was it now?" he mocks playfully.

She jokingly pouts as her cheeks burn. "You're _still_ a jerk."

"And you're still just a crazy fan girl, aren't you?"

She bites her lip and a smile slowly graces her face as she thinks about what he said. "Huh, I guess, in some aspects, I am…" Her head falls to his chest again, listening to his heartbeat.

"Do you remember what I told you the night before the United Forces got to the city?" he asks, tilting his head to press against hers.

A genuine smile – one that makes her eyes shine with sincerity, her eyebrows move upwards cutely, and her cheeks flush just slightly – charms its way onto her lips. "I remember the whole conversation…" she says, quite dreamily – that is, for someone like her.

He just gazes at her, full of adoration, as she tells him about the conversation, as if he'd never been a part of it.

"I couldn't sleep and you knew that too. My stomach was flipping since I was nervous and scared because of the situation in the city… I said it was crazy, because a few months prior to that, I had been practicing for my fire bending test, and right then I was in the middle of a war. You agreed, said we hadn't even knew each other then, and you couldn't imagine your life without me in it anymore. You told me that I was the most loyal, brave, and selfless person you'd ever known. I told you that I thought you were – are – pretty incredible too, but you'd already known that. And then I looked into your eyes, you looked into mine… I turned away, I couldn't get hurt again and it just wasn't the time for that stuff. _You_, however, I think you tried to kiss me again, didn't you?" She grins smugly.

"Guilty as charged," he says, his mouth slightly parted in a grin. "What can I say? You make me that way. I can't think straight around you."

She breaks the eye contact as she feels her face burning and her lips twitching up in an idiotic smirk. She glances at him through her eyelashes shyly. He grins at this, humming as he leans down to catch her lips with his.

When they part, he murmurs, "You're so cute."

"Didn't we already go over this?" she whines with a laugh.

He nods with a smile, stroking her hair as her head goes back to its rightful place on his chest. His other arm snakes around her waist.

"Do you remember when I lost my bending?" she suddenly questions downheartedly.

The smile on his face is replaced almost immediately by a frown. "I do. It was… difficult to see you like that."

"Sorry," she apologizes sheepishly.

"It wasn't your fault, Korra," he chides slightly, his grip tightening.

"Thanks for taking care of me when I was like that."

He raises an eye brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well," she starts, "when Amon was getting away, you tried to fire bend his ass for me. And you let me hug you too… and I don't know… You wouldn't let me be alone while we were traveling to the South Pole… and you tried to keep me hopeful, tried to comfort me… I remember having a nightmare at least once or twice during that trip and you were right there with me when I woke up. And, um… yeah," she mumbles, not knowing how to end her little ramble.

Shifting, she somewhat crawls off of him to lie on her side. He also lays on his side, facing her, his arms pulling her closer. Her head rests beside his neck, hiding her face in an endearing way. Her hands lay on his shoulders, as her arms are not quite long enough to wrap around his neck in this position. He presses kisses to her head and untangles her hair with a hand.

"Do you remember when I told you I love you?" he murmurs to her ear.

Korra's face brightens up instantly, beaming affectionately. "Yeah," she answers, "yeah, I do."

"It was after Katara told us that she couldn't restore your bending," he begins, like she won't remember even though it was only a month ago. "Tenzin told you it'd be okay, but you said it wouldn't. You stormed outside and I just had to follow you. You told me to go away. I said I would, but I just wanted you to know that I'd be there for you. You… you told me to go back to the city," he laughs wistfully, "that I didn't need to do you any favors because you weren't the Avatar anymore." A pause. "I told you that I didn't – still don't – care if you're the Avatar or not. I went on to say that I was losing my mind when Tarrlok kidnapped you and then I said it. 'I love you, Korra.' And then you said you couldn't and jumped on Naga and just ran off."

She cranes her neck up to look at him, his face wistful, longing. She then asks, "Do you remember when I told you I loved you too?"

"I do," his mouth twitches up.

"I ran off to a cliff that I'd always go to to think when I was younger," she starts, her voice quiet. "I… was actually thinking about jumping, but I was too scared to. So instead, I just sat and cried. I heard footsteps behind me sometime later and I saw the air nomad robes, so I just assumed it was Tenzin. So I told him to go away. But he told me that I'd brought him there, and his voice was much softer and nicer to listen to than Tenzin's. It was Aang," she explains, her eyes shining. "He told me that when we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change, and I saw all the other Avatars before him appear behind him. And then he gave me my bending back. I guess that knocked me into the Avatar State too, I don't really know," she mutters sheepishly. "When I stepped back on the ground, I knew someone was behind me. I wanted it to be you, needed it even. And it was and when I saw the smile on your face… I just ran because I'd never seen you so happy. And I made you that happy and I just - I needed you. So I ran to you. You opened your arms and I happily jumped into them. You twirled me around and when you set me on my feet I looked at you and told you. 'I love you, too.' And then we kissed."

She smiles timidly, biting her lip. Leaning up, she puts her hand on his face, caressing his cheek, and she kisses him. He holds the back of her head, tilting it to get a better angle. They part multiple times for a small breath, only to come back together again. Parting one last time before going to sleep, he bites her lip playfully, like she's been doing all this time.

"I love you," he murmurs tenderly.

She yawns, mumbling adoringly, "I love you, too."

They both fall asleep with the memory of waking up together under that tree in the park, smiling like the idiots they are for falling for each other.

**reviews would brighten up my day~**


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